Vittoria
by sukistrawberry2468
Summary: Through a telepathic connection, Mikey rescues a human girl from Bishop's laboratory who's been mutated with his own turtle DNA. What follows is an experience no teenage mutant ninja turtle could have ever imagined.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello Everyone! I feel that I've become terribly rusty since I haven't had much success writing in a very long time. But FanFiction is the perfect place to work back up to my old level of hard work and dedication! I hope you enjoy this story about the adorable Michelangelo. I will try very hard to make sure there are some good fight scenes and it's not just all sappy romance - after all, it wouldn't be TMNT without some serious ninjitsu action!**

Vittoria

Chapter One

"Hmm…pass the Spicy Kick Nachos, Raphy-Daffy," Michelangelo mumbled, turning over in his sleep. Drool leaked out of the corner of his mouth, and his orange cat Klunk was curled up in a small ball near the top of his pillow. Above him, his three brothers Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and their father and master Splinter studied him.

Raph cracked his knuckles. "I've got your spicy kick right here," he said. He took a step toward Mikey, but found Splinter's walking stick blocking his path.

"No, my son," Splinter chided gently. "An honorable warrior does not attack his opponent when they are unconscious."

"Just give me a second," Raph said. "I'll make him conscious real quick." He snorted. "Teach him to call me 'Raphy-Daffy.' "

"Yeah," Donny said. "I thought you were a turtle, Raph, not a duck."

"Well, if I'm a duck, then Mikey's a chicken," Raph said, turning away and heading for his punching bag. Leo bent down and placed a hand on his brother's shoulder.

"Rise and shine, Mikey," he said, shaking him awake.

"Huh?" With a groan, Mikey stretched and covered his eyes with his arm. "Why does it feel like I'm getting up at the crack of dawn?"

"Because it is the crack of dawn," Donny said. "Intensive training starts today, remember?"

"As if our usual training wasn't intensive enough," Mikey groaned, letting Leo drag him to his feet. He gave a huge yawn, then belched loudly.

"Nice one," Donny said.

"I will be downstairs," Spinter said, shaking his head. "We will begin today's lesson in five minutes." He left them and headed toward his room. Leo leaped downstairs to the ground floor to warm up. Mikey could hear Raph giving his punching bag a thorough beat down, no doubt wishing it were Mikey instead.

Mikey picked up Klunk and scratched his head absently. The cat meowed and curled up in his arms, intent on staying asleep. Blearily, Mikey looked at Donny and said, "Why couldn't we have been raised by a normal, non-ninja giant mutant rat?"

"Because all the other mutant rats were either created from Agent Bishops' aliens' exploding goop, or through the Cyber Shredder's experiments with his portal into reality," Donny said.

"Oh yeah." Mikey yawned a second time. "Hey, Bishop hasn't done anything creepy or gross lately, has he?"

"Not that I've heard of," Donny said. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, I mean I know he turns good in the future and stuff," Mikey said. "But now that we're back home, I guess we're back to being enemies and kicking each other's shells."

"Let's hope not," Donny said, stepping to the edge of the floor and preparing to leap down and join Leo. "We've got enough to worry about with the Purple Dragons taking over the city."

After the defeat of Cyber Shredder, the Foot Clan lost Khan as their leader, and since Karai had retired to spend the rest of her life with the scientist Chapman, the Foot was currently scattered and disorganized. The Elite Guard were keeping the Clan from descending into total chaos, but they weren't enough to stop the rise of the Purple Dragons as New York City's most powerful gang. As far as the turtles knew, Hun was still the boss of the Purple Dragons – which meant that they were getting into rumbles at least once a week with Purple Dragon members out on the town committing crimes.

Not that Raph minded the frequent action. As he put it, whilst polishing his sais lovingly, "I love me a side of roasted Dragon with my eggs in the morning."

Mikey still felt sleepy when they were all assembled downstairs, with Splinter sitting across from them. "Today, my sons," Splinter said. "We will be meditating to test your strength of focus and your ability to connect with your inner spirit. Although it is important that you know how to handle your bodies, it is equally important that you learn to listen to your inner spirit and to decipher what it is trying to tell you."

A loud growl erupted from Mikey's stomach. Splinter raised an eyebrow, and Mikey grinned sheepishly.

"Uh, I think I hear my inner spirit loud and clear, Sensei."

"Since you were late to wake up this morning, Michelangelo," Splinter said, "You will unfortunately have to do without until morning practice is over."

"What!" Mikey's stomach gave another loud growl, as if it were protesting as well. "But I hate doing without! It's so – uh - " Unable to think of a clever joke, Mikey looked around for inspiration. His eyes landed on Raph. "Me doing without food is like Raph not being ugly! It's just not right."

"Hey Leo," Raph said through gritted teeth. "You think if I punch Mikey in the stomach enough times it'll cure his hunger?"

"Worth a shot," Leo said. He'd already closed his eyes and was attempting to listen to his inner spirit. "Otherwise we'll have to listen to it growling all morning."

"A ninja," Splinter cut in, interrupting his sons, "has the ability to focus only on the task at hand, regardless of the distractions around him. Leonardo, focus only on your training and do not concern yourself with your brother's actions. And Michelangelo," he said, his voice becoming more firm, "You will use this as a lesson so that tonight you will not stay up all night playing video games and, thus, oversleep."

Mikey sighed and ducked his head, bracing himself for a long, unpleasant morning. "Yes, Sensei." Now he really could've used those Spicy Kick Nachos.

That night, after a grueling day of training, Mikey didn't dream about food for once. Instead, he saw what looked like a laboratory – he'd been inside enough labs by now to last him a lifetime. However, this one looked unpleasantly familiar. This wasn't just an imaginary lab that his mind had come up with or pieced together from a TV program – it was a lab he'd been in before. It was a place he'd once visited – as a potential experiment.

"Hey, I remember now," he said out loud. "This is Agent Bishop's headquarters." His eyes traveled around the room, taking in the familiar boards he and his brothers had been strapped to, and the horizontal containment chamber where Bishop had kept their fellow mutant friend Leatherhead prisoner. The place was definitely creepy – had they not gone to the future and seen Bishop as the president of an intergalactic peacekeeping organization, Mikey would've still considered him just as much a threat to their existence as the Shredder.

Suddenly, two other people appeared in the room – materialized, more like. One was strapped to one of the boards, and the other stood nearby.

Mikey had let out a yelp of surprise, but after the initial shock, he laughed with relief and said, "Man, I almost jumped out of my shell. Did you guys use, like, a teleportal device or something?"

To his chagrin, neither of them answered him, turned around, or acknowleged his presence at all. Mikey frowned. He hated being ignored.

"Uh, anyone home?" he asked, taking a few steps forward. He took a closer look at the person standing and said, "Whoa! It's you!"

It was Bishop. He was snapping on a pair of latex gloves, and a tray with a needle and a jar of a mysterious, green liquid sat on a small table next to him. He continued to ignore Mikey, which lead Mikey to believe that maybe in this dream, he was just an observer. Maybe it was like he was watching a TV program, except that he was inside the TV. Or maybe he was in the past, and since the past had already been played out, there was nothing he could do to interfere. As for the person strapped down, it was too dark for Mikey to make out the identity right away. But once Bishop had put on his gloves, he twisted on a lamp and the area was flooded with harsh, florescent light.

Mikey gasped. Some kind of half human, half reptile creature was lying on the board, naked and listless, as if it were too exhausted to fight against its constraints. The swell of breasts confirmed the mutated creature was female. Even though her body shape was definitely that of a human, she possessed some features that seemed almost – dare Mikey think it – turtle-ish. Her skin was green as sea glass, and she had some kind of bowl-shaped growth on her back that looked a lot like a shell. But unlike Mikey or any of his brothers, she had hair on her head – long brown hair, which was matted with something dark red and sticky near her temple.

Bishop's mouth was moving, but Mikey couldn't hear anything he was saying. So it was also a silent TV program. He watched Bishop pick up the needle and jar.

Dread curled in the pit of his stomach. "No, come on, you're not supposed to be doing creepy mutant experiments anymore," Mikey begged. "You gotta turn into a good guy, remember? Save the aliens, make peace not war, all that jazz?"

Inserting the needle into the jar, Bishop pulled out a measure of the liquid, and then removed it. He wiped the tip of the needle and then leaned over the mutant girl's face, his lips still moving soundlessly. He was sneering – Mikey recognized the expression all too well from when he'd been the one strapped down. Come to think of it, whenever the turtles had come across Bishop in the past, he seemed to be sneering.

Bishop finally stopped talking, and in that instant, the creature, who had been staring blankly up at the ceiling with as much expression as a stone statue, slid her gaze sideways and stared right at Mikey.

_Help me._

Mikey gasped. Bishop didn't turn around or break his concentration. The mutant girl's mouth hadn't moved, which meant that the voice had come from somewhere inside her. But why hadn't she seen Mikey before now?

_Please, let me out of here._

He couldn't tear his eyes away from her's. No longer were her eyes dull and void of emotion – now they were desperate, filled with tears. She was silently begging him to save her. Something terrible was about to happen.

_Help me, Michelangelo._

Mikey took a step forward, stretching out his hand, reaching for her –

And promptly woke up to find himself at home, in his bed, staring up at the black ceiling, his hand grasping at nothing but thin air.

**I promise to work hard and not quit this story until it's finished! (Though I don't plan on making this a super long story). Till next chapter.**

**~Suki~**


	2. Chapter 2

**I forgot to mention, this story is based off of the 2003 cartoon series (though you might've already guessed that). Also, if you're a TMNT fan and you haven't checked out Mutant Ninja Turtles Gaiden, an online fan made manga, you're missing out on a masterpiece. Let's just say TMNT is my newest obsession and I would be honored to be able to create anything half as amazing as MNT Gaiden. (Though that doesn't mean I'm going to miss out on the brand new, modernized official TMNT comics that just came out on Aug 24th, 2011! They sold out right away so I guess I'll have to wait till the reprinting). My greatest wish is to create an amazing original story that people will really love...but first I need the right idea and the motivation!**

Vittoria

Chapter Two

"I'm telling you guys, it wasn't a normal dream," Mikey said. Unusual thought it was, Mikey was genuinely frustrated. He felt like his words were richochetting off the backs of his brother's shells without them taking in a word he was saying. They were leaping across the rooftops on the Eastern route, theoretically trying to beat their personal best, but Mikey was distracting everyone. He hadn't stopped talking about the dream once since he'd had it three nights ago.

When he'd tried to discuss it with them the morning after, his brothers had just laughed at him. Raph had knocked him playfully on the back of the head and wrapped his arm around his neck in a headlock.

"Aw, is little Mikey scared of Agent Boogey-Bishop?" Raph said, clearly enjoying Mikey's agitation.

Mikey had managed to bust his way out of Raph's head lock and kick him into the pool, but rather than flaunt his win, he turned to Leo and Donny. "Guys, I think it was a real dream," Mikey said.

"Well, obviously," Leo said.

"No, no, I mean it was a dream, but I think it happened in real life too," Mikey said. He grabbed both their shoulders and mustered up his most serious expression. He had to admit, he didn't use it much. "I think we should check out Bishop and see what that creeper's been up to lately. Hasn't he seemed too quiet? Don't you think we should have caught him causing trouble around New York City by now?"

"Mikey, we're not falling for that old prank," Donny said, putting his hands on his hips.

"What old prank?" Mikey cried.

"Let's see," Donny said, "It's goes like this: you pretend that you're actually serious about something, and that we should listen to you for once in our lives. Then you lead us on some wild turtle chase and we end up wasting a bunch of time tracking down a bad guy that doesn't exist, or digging up a scheme that wasn't planted, or searching for buried treasure all night while you sneak back to the lair so you can have the video games all to yourself."

"Basically, you've cried wolf too many times," Leo said. He patted Mikey on the back, as if to comminserate. "Nice try, though."

The two of them left Mikey standing there helplessly. "Okay, the buried treasure thing was a little extreme," Mikey yelled after them. "But I was young and foolish! I'm totally grown up and stuff now. You gotta believe me!"

"Maybe in a few more years," Leo said over his shoulder. And that was the end of it.

Or so Leo and Donny had thought. But Mikey had honed his ability to persist over the years into a fine art, and though he usually only used this persistence to annoy everyone around him, this time he decided to channel it for good. He was determined to make his brothers believe him. So what if he'd pulled one too many pranks in the past? So what if this was maybe the fourth – or third? – time Mikey had ever asked his brothers to take him seriously?

At least Splinter hadn't ignored him. After his unsuccessful talk with his brothers, Mikey waffled on the spot for a moment, then turned and assaulted Splinter, who had been preparing his daily tea nearby and had overheard the conversation.

"Sensei, you believe me, don't you?" Mikey said. He tried to widen his eyes to covey his earnestness.

"You are asking a great deal of us, Michelangelo," Splinter said. He held the steaming cup in his hands, and somehow the prop made him look wiser. "Though I am personally not compelled to believe your words just yet, I advise you to consult your inner spirit. A wise man's thoughts are the wind, his actions are the water, and his beliefs are the mountain."

"Uh…" Mikey scratched his head. "Is that 'Japanese proverb-ese', Sensei?"

"What I'm saying," Splinter said, "Is that if you are serious about this dream, Michelangelo, then don't be dismayed by your brothers' lack of faith. Stand firm, and stay alert for more signs. If what you have seen proves to be a true vision, then there is someone who needs your help."

Encouraged by Splinter's words, Mikey resolved to try harder. After the day's practice, instead of collapsing on the couch to hog the TV, he went out and patrolled the city alone, searching for any signs of activity from Bishop or the Earth Protection Force. Though he found nothing unusual either of the two nights he went out, whenever he thought back to the girl in the dream, he knew in his gut that it wasn't just a nightmare his mind had created.

So he didn't give up, and now as he and his brothers dashed and flipped over New York City, he refused to let the subject drop. For that, when they reached the end of the route, panting with exertion, Leo reported that they'd finished a minute and a half later than last time.

"That's three minutes less than our personal best," Leo said, clearly displeased.

"Gee, wonder if we were distracted by some lame-brain's yammering the whole time," Raph said, glaring at Mikey through the slits in his mask.

"I wouldn't be yammering if you guys would just believe me already," Mikey said stubbornly, bent over and gasping for breath.

"I have to admit, I'm almost impressed at your persistence this time," Donny said. He straightened and took out his bo staff. "Weapon drills before we head back?" Donny asked Leo.

Leo nodded. "Spins. Ten minutes."

"Well, I'm almost ready to impress my fist into your skull," Raph said to Mikey, taking out his sais.

Mikey yelped and hurried away out of Raph's reach. "I'm telling the truth!" he insisted.

Leo pressed a button on his shell cell. "And start!"

Mikey whipped out his nunchakus and began whirling them in front of his body at lightning speed. Their weapons were nothing but circular blurs of deadly ninja power and masterful skill. Mikey knew that as a team, he and his brothers were a force to be reckoned with. They had gone through hell and back together, into space and cyber space and everywhere in between. There was no doubt that in a crisis, they had each other's shells no matter what.

That was why it was so important that they believe him – they had a better chance of saving the mutant girl if the four of them went to the EPF headquarters together. Mikey had to admit, he found it painfully unfair that, had it been anyone else who'd had a disturbing dream that seemed too real to be a dream about someone who was being experimented on, they would have set out to investigate at once. Even Raph, who was famous for jumping the gun and rushing into action without thinking, would've gotten more credit than Mikey. Out of the entire family, Mikey was probably the worst candidate to receive a vision. Whoever was calling for help had picked the wrong turtle.

Stewing in his own thoughts, the others were able to finish their weapons practice in peace and head back across New York without any distractions. On the return trip, much to Leo's satisfaction, they beat their personal best by ten seconds. But Mikey wasn't paying any attention. He was already deciding where he was going to patrol tonight, mapping out the places in his head where he hadn't visited in awhile. He wasn't going to leave any stone unturned – or any dirty back alley uncombed, as the case may be.

As Leo, Raph, and Donny prepared to leap off the rooftop and head back underground, Mikey said, "You guys go ahead. I'll catch you later." He left them without any further explanation, though after two previous nights of this they hardly needed one.

Nevertheless, Donny frowned. "Do you think maybe we should listen to him for once?" he asked. "This is the third night in a row Mikey's gone on patrol instead of slumming around the lair. It's not like him."

"I've been wondering the same thing," Leo said thoughtfully. He watched Mikey's dark shape bounding across the rooftops, heading northwest. "At first I thought it was a joke, but normally he would've given up by now and tried a different tactic."

"That's cuz he's got the attention span of a fruit fly," Raph said. "Come on, you guys, when has Mikey ever been serious about anything? Except maybe his Superquest addiction," he amended.

"But if Mikey really did have a vision-" Leo started, but Raph interrupted him with a groan.

"Yeah, that's exactly what he wants us to believe, so he can pull one over on us."

"If Mikey really did have a vision," Leo repeated, more firmly this time, "Then there might be someone who needs our help. As honorable warriors, we can't just ignore a call for aid. We also can't leave Mikey to fight by himself."

There was a pause as they all considered Leo's words.

"You're right," Donny said.

"Got a point, fearless leader," Raph admitted grudgingly.

"He may be an idiot sometimes, but he's also our brother," Leo said. "And so we'll be there for him no matter what. Let's go back and see what Sensei has to say about this," he suggested.

They headed back down into the sewers, and though they had decided to give Mikey the benefit of the doubt at last, no one could have realized that it was already too late.

*************************************************************************************************************************

After dragging himself to bed at three in the morning for a few hours of sleep, Mikey had barely closed his eyes before he found himself back in Bishop's lab.

"So we meet again, creepy genetics lab," he said with a wicked grin. He reached for his nunchakus and held them at the ready. "Now, how about you take me to your leader? Or, uh, I guess bring your leader to me…" Mikey said, remembering how last time Agent Bishop and the mutant girl had just appeared out of thin air.

The dream responded by producing Bishop and a sealed containment chamber. The mutant girl was locked inside. They had only just materialized into the room when Mikey saw something horrible was happening to her.

"Hey!" Mikey yelled and raced over to the containment chamber. He pressed his hands up against the blue-green glass and looked down in horror.

She was on all fours, convulsing, and coughing up blood. The skin on her arms and neck looked diseased – scaly, like a rash. And her shell was cracked in places. It looked too battered and flimsy to protect her, as if it had also succumbed to illness.

"Hang on," Mikey said. "I'm gonna get you out of there!" Whirling his nunchakus, he aimed for the glass and brought his weapons down onto the chamber with as much force as he could muster. The nunchakus hit the glass with a resounding bang but didn't so much as crack it.

"Come on!"

He struck again and again, making no progress and feeling increasingly panicked. When he realized he wasn't going to be able to free her himself, he rounded on Bishop and reached for his collar.

"Hey Bishop," he shouted. "You let her out or I'll-"

His hand went right through Bishop, who had as much substance as a hologram. "Ah, you're kidding me!" He tried again, but Bishop was completely unaware of his presence. "Not the old 'psyche, I'm a hologram' trick!" he groaned. He felt helpless. What was he supposed to do now? He couldn't break open the chamber and he couldn't get Bishop's attention. Was he just supposed to stand there and watch her die?

_You came back._

"Ahh!" Mikey started, but then he looked down and saw that, once again, the girl was looking straight at him. She could see him and Bishop could not. Not only that, but while Bishop's lips moved and no sound came out, the girl spoke directly to Mikey without opening her mouth at all, the same as last time.

"Yeah, I just came to crash the party," Mikey said, abandoning Bishop to crouch down in front of the containment chamber. He placed a hand on the glass, all to aware that it was impenetrable. "So is there a way to get this thing open? A button or something? I'm no good with this tech-geek stuff," Mikey said sheepishly. "I don't wanna push the wrong thing and blow you up or something."

_I'm afraid you're just an observer. _The mutant girl had stopped coughing. She was breathing heavily, but her voice was steady, and she was gazing at Mikey as if he were a long lost friend._ You're seeing this through the window of my mind._

"So is that why you can see me and Bishop can't?" Mikey asked.

_Yes. We are connected, though I do not know how. But as I experience this in reality, for you, this is just a dream. _

"Well, I guess that makes me, like, super unhelpful," Mikey said. For some reason, this made him feel ashamed. "But I'll come and get you out of there once I wake up."

_Don't come. It's too dangerous._ The mutant girl reached up and found Mikey's hand on the other side of the glass. He could almost imagine that they were touching. _I know I asked you to save me before, but it's too late now. Bishop has decided I am a failed experiment._

"Failed experiment?" Mikey said. His heart was pounding in his ears. "What did Bishop to do you?"

_There's no point in you risking your life to come here anymore. _

"Like hell there isn't!"

_But it was…_The mutant girl's fingers curled against the cold glass. _It was nice…to see a friend…before I…_ Her mental voice trailed away, and her eyes rolled into the back of her head as she passed out.

"No!"

Mikey pounded against the glass with his fists. "No, no, don't do this!" he begged. "Wake up! Wake up!"

"Mikey, wake up!"

"No, you gotta fight it, just wake up!"

"Mikey, it's okay, it's just me!"

At first, he thought the voice was Bishop's. But then his eyes snapped open, and he found himself back in the lair, with Leo kneeling over him. He had both his hands on Mikey's shoulders and looked very worried.

"You were yelling in your sleep," he said. "Was it the dream about Bishop's lab again?"

"Leo," Mikey said wildly, ignoring his brother's question. "We've gotta save her. We've gotta go right now, she's dying."

"The girl Bishop was experimenting on?"

"Yeah, there's no time!" Mikey pushed Leo off and scrambled to his feet. He ran toward the nearest exit and yelled over his shoulder, "I'm taking the chopper! Tell Sensei I'll be back later!"

"Wait up, Mikey-"

"There's no time, bro," Mikey insisted. "I don't care if you guys don't believe me, I'll go alone if I have to."

"Mikey, we believe you," Leo said, raising his voice. "We're going with you."

"Huh?" Mikey stopped short, and looked back at his brother. Out of the darkness, Raph and Donny emerged behind Leo. Both of them had their weapons, and Donny carried a bag already packed with supplies.

Donny smiled. "We've got your back, Mikey. We're family."

"And family sticks together," Raph said. "Even if one of them is a total whack bag," he added with a grin.

For the first time in his life, Mikey was speechless. "Bros…"

"The coordinates for Bishop's lab should still be programmed into the helicopter," Donny said. "And weather conditions are good. We can get in and get out in record time."

Mikey remembered the mutant girl's face, her blood, her eyes. His face lost some of its excitement, and he settled with nodding his thanks to his brothers.

"Then we've got some ninja-style ass-kicking to do."

**Till next time,**

**~Suki~**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you very much to those of you who've added this to your Favorite Stories - I really appreciate it! That's one of the best things about FanFiction - when you write, you're able to get encouragement and suggestions from other people as you go. Writing here gives me the motivation to not just complete this story, but to start an original idea as well. But even more than that, writing here helps me remember why I feel like writing is the most important thing in my life. Ah, sorry to be so dramatic! And I know I've got so much to improve on, like anyone else. But anyways, let's just get on with the story. Mutant Ninja Turtles Forever!**

Vittoria

Chapter Three

At five in the morning, EPF headquarters looked quite deserted. But Mikey knew better – at such a high risk, high security operation, there had to be guards on duty at all hours. It was possible they'd be able to get in without being detected – but getting back out with what they'd come for might be easier said than done.

After landing the helicopter behind what looked like the ruined remains of a building, Leo gathered their attention to give a quick debrief.

"Alright, so Donny, you stay here and hack into the security systems and direct us to the lab," he said as he slipped on his communication headset.

"Right," Donny said. Already in the pilot's chair, he spun around without further ado and began typing furiously. Leo turned to Raph and Mikey. The three of them wore all black to help them blend more into the shadows. Raph's fingers were already lightly resting on his sais, as if he couldn't wait to whip them out and start slashing. Mikey had been uncharacteristically silent the entire time. He was worried. Dread turned over in the pit of his stomach, uncoiling like a snake.

Now, as Leo said, "Raph, Mikey, let's go," Mikey took a deep gulp of air, and followed his brothers out of the helicopter and toward the EPF base. Under normal circumstances, this would have been just another rescue mission. They would have just been saving another victim of Bishop's twisted schemes. But the girl had said it in the dream:

_We are connected, though I do not know how._

And for Mikey, who was rarely taken seriously, that meant a lot. She had reached out to him. She was counting on him to save her, even if she wouldn't admit it. For better or for worse, she had chosen him.

A metal fence topped with barbed wire surrounded the perimeter of the building. For any normal person the high fence would've been a deterrent, but the three turtles scaled it easily. They landed on the other side with a lightness that belied their size, silent as shadows. Then, at Leo's signal, they set off toward the building at a run, ducking in and out of the dark spaces of the landscape.

Leo checked in with Donny on the headset. "How're we doing?" he asked quietly as they ran.

"You're all clear on the West entrance. I've disabled the alarm, so you just need to handle the security camera and whoever's on duty," Donny said, his voice crackling through all three of their headsets.

Raph said with a wicked grin, "That's our Big Brain Donny for ya."

"Good work, Don," Leo said. He glanced over at Mikey. "Doing okay, Mikey?" he asked.

Mikey nodded, arms pumping. "Cowabunga, dude," he confirmed, attempting a smile. He wasn't able to quite pull it off as his normal grin, but Leo and Raph chose not to comment.

At the West entrance, they ducked around the corner and then peered around to survey what they were dealing with. It seemed there was no one on duty – they couldn't see a guard of any kind. Perched under the eves, a lone security camera slowly rotated one hundred and eighty degrees from side to side.

Raph snorted. "Are you sure this is Bishop's place? Security's pathetic here."

"I know. It seems too easy," Leo said.

"Well, then, why are we just standing here in the dark?" Impatient with his brother's conversation, and since there seemed to be no apparent threat, Mikey had darted out and was already at the keypad.

"Mikey!" Leo hissed, but Mikey had tuned into his headset.

"Donny, you got an access code, bro?" he asked.

"Just a sec," Donny said. "Let's see, it's-"

But Mikey didn't hear the rest of his words. Out of nowhere, he felt something heavy come crashing down on his back, like someone had whacked him with a metal pipe. He fell over, face slamming into the dust.

"Mikey!" Leo and Raph yelled at the same time. No sooner had they darted out that they were also hit with some unseen force, this time in the legs and ribs. Gasping, Leo strained his watering eyes to see what was attacking them, but besides a few small clouds of dust rising from around their feet, he couldn't see anything.

Coughing, Mikey got back to his feet and looked around in vain. "What the shell?" he asked. "Are those-?"

"Foot Tech ninja!" Raph yelled, brandishing his sais at thin air. "What are they doing all the way down here?"

"And why are they working for Bishop?" Mikey asked.

"They're clan's all split up," Leo said. "Maybe these guys have gone rouge and they're choosing their own assignments." As if to emphasize his point, Leo was suddenly struck in the face, slamming him backward into the wall. The turtles tried to fend off the invisible foes, but they might as well have been aiming at ghosts.

"Guys, hurry!" Donny's voice said in their ears. "You're drawing too much attention to yourselves. You'll wake up the whole building."

"Quiet!" Leo yelled at his brothers.

Raph and Mikey froze, arms raised and fists clenched. Donny was silent on the headset. As soon as they all stopped moving, they realized what Leo wanted them to do. Blocking out all other sound – the sounds of wind, of desert creatures in the distance – they focused only on the quiet crunch of dry earth beneath their enemies' feet. Leo pulled down his bandana over his eyes to help sharpen his sense of hearing. Raph and Mikey followed suit. They had had many lessons where they dealt without being able to see, and though those had been particularly challenging sessions, they were greatful to Splinter for not forgoing this type of training.

Mikey heard footsteps approaching from his right, and struck out with a sharp kick. He was rewarded with a grunt as his foot made contact. He leaped at his enemy while he was off balance and, raising his fist, struck the middle of the ninja's chest. He felt the round chest plate give way, and moments later, the ninja appeared, his cloaking device deactivated.

Mikey delivered a swift chop to the ninja's neck and a blow to the head before the ninja could escape or activate his cloaking device again. With another grunt, the ninja fell into the dust, clearly unconscious. Mikey turned, and saw his brothers engaged with visible Foot Tech Ninjas as well.

"Once you get rid of their invisibility doohickeys," Raph said, slamming his elbow into a ninja's side, "They're down like flies." To prove his point, Raph kicked the ninja so hard he flew a few feet before landing on his back, and was knocked out cold.

A second later, the last Foot Tech ninja was sent flying, and landed on top of his comrade. Leo hurried over to the keypad and asked into the headset, "Donny, access code?"

"Four four eight nine seven one," Donny rattled off, and Leo punched in the numbers. The door unlocked from the inside with a loud click, and the three of them hurried inside. They entered what looked like a large storage unit, piled high with boxes and various supplies and equipment. Some looked like it belonged in a hospital, but there were plenty of weapons as well.

"Creepy storage room with all kinds of expensive, dangerous goodies," Raph said. "Yep, same old Bishop we remember. Kinda makes you miss the Bishop from the future, doesn't it?"

"So I guess, like, offing him in the present isn't an option?" Mikey asked hopefully. Leo and Raph both gaped at him.

Mikey raised his hands up in defense. "I'm kidding bros." Then he frowned slightly, the worry apparent in his face. "Kinda."

"Mikey, we can't do anything to Bishop anymore," Leo said. "Bishop needs to stay alive so that he can do good in the future."

"As much as I hate to admit it, Leo's got a point," Raph said, clapping Mikey on the shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll get your mutant freak girl out in one piece."

"You didn't see her," Mikey said. Even though he'd just taken down a ninja, his body felt chilly. He couldn't forget all that blood. In the back of his mind, he was wondering if she was even still alive. What if she'd bled to death in that containment chamber right after he'd woken up?

"Donny," he said into the headset. "Which way to the lab?"

"Straight down the main corridor, avoid the cameras, hang a left at Room 118," Donny's voice said. "Code to access the lab is 'B one four three P'."

"Got it," Leo said, and they took off again.

The hallway was quiet and deserted. Moving swiftly, they leaped from one shadow to the next, ducking and dodging with a grace and sophistication that belied their humble beginnings as ordinary turtles. Thus far, no one inside the building had noticed their presence. Though his nerves were taunt as bowstrings, Mikey couldn't have been more glad to have his brothers supporting him. If Donny hadn't been there, Mikey might not have even made it past the alarms on the outer perimeter. And even if he'd gotten to an entrance, he might've been overwhelmed by Foot Tech ninja if he'd had to fight them by himself.

They reached Bishop's lab without any incident, and Leo punched in the key code. They opened the door just a crack, and saw it was pitch black inside. They hurried inside the room and closed the door behind him.

"Somebody hit the lights," Leo said. Raph fumbled around the wall for the switch, and once he found it, he flipped it on and the lab was brought to life in sharp, blinding relief.

Except the room was empty.

Mikey couldn't believe it. "But- " he sputtered. He took a few steps forward, turned around in a circle, his eyes racing wildly around the room for a clue, a sign that she'd been here. "This was where I saw her, she was here, I swear, bros!"

"Great, now we just gotta search the entire rest of the building," Raph grumbled, clearly displeased.

Leo went over to comfort Mikey. "It's okay, Mikey, we'll find her," he said encouragingly.

But Mikey wasn't listening to Leo. He screwed his eyes up tight, concentrating, every muscle in his body tensed. He focused on nothing but reaching deep into his spirit, just as Splinter had taught them. He sent his energy outward, precise and sharp as a laser, searching for the girl's essence. Using all the strength of his mind and spirit, he searched for her in the cloudy realm of psychic energy, racing past other possible psychic connections – those of his brothers – and trying to reclaim what he'd felt in his dream. If only he could connect with her the same way they'd connected when he was asleep, then he could use it as a compass to guide him to her current location…

_Where are you?_

And then he felt her. She wasn't speaking this time, and he didn't see a vision in his mind of her location. But he felt her presence – it was an unmistakable sensation. He didn't know where exactly what room she was in, but he knew which direction to go.

"Come on," Mikey yelled at the other two. And he took off out of the lab and back down the hall before either Raph or Leo could stop him.

"Mikey!" Leo yelled.

"Yo, where the hell are ya going, ya idiot?" Raph said. Left with no other choice, they abandoned the lab and dashed after their brother.

"What's going on?" Donny's voice crackled in the headset. "Mikey, why are you running away from the lab?"

"She's not there!" Mikey said. "She's somewhere else, I know where she is!"

Raph, who had been listening in through the headset, yelled at Mikey from behind, "How do ya figure that?"

"I can feel her!" Mikey insisted. "We've got, like, some kind of weird psychic connection!"

"Oh boy, I can't wait to hear ya explain this one," Raph said.

"That's why I dreamed about her," Mikey yelled over his shoulder. He made a sharp left. "Just follow me!" Leo and Raph darted after him, barely managing to keep him in sight. When Mikey really wanted to, he could cover ground faster than any of his older brothers.

Mikey led them through a veritable catacomb of hallways – right, left, and two more rights, and another left, through a door that should have been locked but swung open when Mikey slammed into it without stopping to think-

And there, illuminated by the moonlight streaming in through the window, in a cage you might use to keep a wild animal locked away, the girl was lying face down, blood pooled around her mouth. She was so still Mikey's heart almost stopped.

"Aw, no, we're can't be too late!"

Mikey crossed the room and kneeled down outside the cage. He could just barely squeeze his hand and forearm through the bars. He was able to reach the matted brown hair on her head, which he patted anxiously. "Hey," he said. He could hear his own voice trembling. Leo and Raph stood behind him, silent and worried.

Mikey gulped. "Hey, I'm here," he said. He could feel a burning sensation in the corners of his eyes. "I came to get you, just like I promised. Remember?"

From underneath the unruly mane of matted hair, Mikey heard a low moan. Then, to his immense relief, the mutant girl moved. Slowly, she raised her head and arm so that she could push some of her hair out of the way. Her eyes met his, and she recognized him instantly.

"Michelangelo," she whispered. She looked at him as though he were a ghost. "Are you real? Are you actually here?" She reached toward him, her hand shaking.

He grabbed it, and as he made contact with her cold skin, he felt such a strong, unwarranted surge of emotions that, to his shock, tears started leaking out of his eyes.

The girl asked, "What are you crying for?"

Mikey laughed nervously. "I dunno," he said, wiping his face with his other arm. "It's like I can't control myself, or something." He gave a huge sniff. "I got a bunch of dust in my nose, so maybe it's allergies."

The girl smiled. "That's what you get for playing in the dirt."

"I'm gonna get you out of this stupid cage, okay?"

The girl smiled. Something about it looked oddly familiar. "That would be great."

Mikey released her hand and stood up. Raph went over to inspect the lock on the door of the cage.

His mouth split into a grin. "Looks like a good old fashioned padlock. Easy to smash, just the way I like it." He flipped one of his sais so that the handle was facing down in his clenched fist, and he brought it down onto the joint of the lock in an almighty demonstration of pure mutant ninja turtle muscle. The lock busted apart into pieces, and Raph chuckled appreciatively.

"I got skills," he said with satisfaction, sticking his sai back into his belt.

Mikey removed the rest of the ruined lock and swung open the metal door. He had to duck to get inside the cage, but once inside he was able to stand without any problem. He walked over to the mutant girl and turned her over as gently as he could. She rolled over with a groan, but seemed to be regaining a little of her strength. Mikey had almost forgotten that she was naked, and so once he'd turned her over and saw her body he yelped and slapped his hands over his eyes.

"I'm sorry, I totally didn't see anything! I'm not a pervert, I swear."

Raph cackled from behind him. "Sure ya aren't, Mikey."

"Here," Leo said. He was rummaging in a set of drawers and managed to find a short gown, the kind patients wore in hospitals. He walked back over to the cage and handed it to Mikey, keeping his eyes averted. "This'll have to do, for the time being. We'll get you some better clothes at home."

"Don't worry," the girl said. "I'm a science experiment. I'm used to being naked."

Mikey fumbled with the thin material. "Uh, sorry, but I'm gonna have to look for a second to put this on you." Mikey felt his face slowly heating up as he peeked at her out of the corner of his eye.

The girl raised an eyebrow. Mikey gulped and kept his eyes on her face.

Nervously, he tied the neck strings around her neck, and then gently pulled her into a sitting position so that he could tie the other strings around her back. "Like Leo said, we'll get you better clothes back at the lair," he babbled. "Um, I'm gonna pick you up now, okay?"

The mutant girl smiled. "Thanks."

She reached up toward him with both arms. Mikey saw the horrible rash that covered her neck and forearms, and imagined how itchy and painful it must be. He slid his arms underneath her and picked her up. She fit easily, and without any hint of distrust or discomfort she rested her head in the crook of his neck.

"In case I fall asleep before we get to your home," she murmured, her breath whispering against his skin, as light as new snow, "I just want you to know – thanks for coming for me. And my name is Vittoria."

**Reviews would be very much appreciated. Till next time,**

**~Suki~**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi guys! Thanks for the your support! Somehow I've gotta find a way to get ahold of the new TMNT comics. Not to mention I'm stoked for both the movie and the new TV series coming out in 2012! I can't believe that TMNT was created in the 80's and is still going strong today. There's just something really special about this series, and about these characters. Considering they started as just a fun parody of other superhero comics, that's pretty amazing! Well, on to the story.**

Vittoria

Chapter Four

The turtles hadn't taken more than a step before a voice said, "Ah…I suspected you freaks would show up at some point."

Vittoria gasped. "It's a trap!" she whispered. "Quick, leave me and get out of here-"

The lights snapped on abruptly. Squinting, Mikey struggled to see where the voice had come from – though he had no trouble recognizing it.

Neither did Leo and Raph. "Agent Bishop," Leo said. "What kind of experiments have you been doing to this girl?"

Agent Bishop stood before them, not dressed in the white they remembered from his future peace-keeping, alien-friendly days, but in the black, semi-cyborg ensemble they remembered from their previous encounters. He wore his customary air of subtle yet palatable condescension.

"Interesting you should ask," Bishop said. "As you might recall, I collected DNA samples from all of you, and since you yourselves were proving to be difficult to capture and experiment on, I figured the next best option would be to dispose of you so you'd stop interfering with my work." As he spoke, a group of armed, robotic guards filtered into the room, clanking with each step, surrounding Bishop and blocking off the turtle's exit.

"Hah, ya call this work?" Raph said with a growl. "Experimenting on others just for your stupid alien invasion defense thingy?"

"Refined as usual, Raphael," Bishop said. "But yes, I am a man of science, and that is how I was able to target Michelangelo. You other turtles are just a bonus."

Mikey braced his legs, holding Vittoria tight to his chest. "Yeah, fat chance of that happening!" he yelled at Bishop. "I don't play for your team!"

Vittoria barely managed to cough and conceal a laugh.

"Like I'm just gonna sit on my butt in this cage like a good turtle!" Mikey exclaimed. "In your twisted dreams!"

"Well, then," Bishop said, "Looks like my dreams have just become a reality." He pressed a button from a remote in his pocket.

A cage of brilliant red laser beams materialized out of thin air, surrounding the metal cage that Mikey and Vittoria still stood inside. Unlike the metal cage, the lasers had no apparent door or gaps that would allow either of them to escape. Too late, Mikey realized that he'd been led right into a trap.

"You see, turtles," Bishop said. "I decided the only way to end your lives was to create a mutant strong enough to defeat you. So I injected some of Michelangelo's DNA into this prototype clone, whom I enhanced with superior strength and speed, hoping it would be equipped with enough resilience to overpower you. However," he said delicately, "the project was a failure. It is rejecting your mutant DNA."

Mikey gaped down at Vittoria. "You're a clone?" he gasped.

"Kinda missed the point there, Mikey," Raph muttered.

Vittoria looked ashamed. "Sorry," she said. "I should've told you."

"But – but - " Mikey sputtered. "But then, your name-"

" – Is Seven Zero One," Bishop cut in. "No family, no identity – and no purpose except to become a weapon capable of destroying you turtles. However, even though its body proved incapable of accepting the DNA, Seven Zero One was useful to me." Bishop smiled grimly. "I hypothesized that using Michelangelo's DNA would forge some kind of mental link between them, and I was correct – it led him right to itself, and now I've captured one of you nuisances. I can execute the turtle and my failed experiment at the same time."

He slid the remote out of his pocket. His finger rested on a red button, and he aimed at the laser cage.

"Be grateful, Michelangelo, that you and the mutant clone will have a quick death," he said. He pressed the button.

The lasers cage began to shrink alarmingly. It would incinerate Mikey and Vittoria if it touched them, which would be in a matter of seconds if someone didn't do something. Mikey yelled, panicked and trapped.

"Mikey!" Leo yelled.

Raph was the one to act. He threw his sai at Bishop's hand. It flew and sunk its tip into the flesh underneath his pinky finger. With a cry of pain, Bishop dropped the remote. It clattered across the floor. Leo dove for it, spun around, aimed it at the cage and pressed the button again.

The cage, which had grown so small that Mikey had dropped to his knees to shield Vittoria's body, halted its progress. Leo pushed another button near the top labled "Deactivate", and the laser cage disappeared.

"Mikey, get out of there!" Leo said.

Mikey straightened, and he and Vittoria looked around, blinking, at the cage that was only harmless metal once again.

"Dude, that was too cool!" Mikey said, his eyes shining. "Leo, have I told you how much I love you today?"

"Majorly awesome," Vittoria added.

"Don't let them escape!" Bishop said to his guards. The robots charged at the turtles, and began shooting mindlessly with their laser guns.

Raph and Leo ran at the guards, roundhouse and flip kicking guns and robot heads left and right. Metal crunched and joints squeaked. Leo whipped out his two katana and began slicing metal limbs on all sides, moving from one to the next with grace and flawless precision. When it came to form and technique, Leo's skills were unrivaled by anyone.

Raph stomped on a guard's disembodied head and it crackled with electricity issuing from its severed wires. His fist smashed through metal bodies and when he ripped a gun away from a robot, he took off his whole arm as well. Raph was, among the turtles, an unstoppable hurricane, wreaking destruction in his path as he headed toward Bishop.

"Hey, I think I left something of mine with ya for safekeeping," Raph taunted Bishop, kicking a jerking guard's body out of his way. He beckoned with his three fingered hand. "I'll just be taking it back now, thank ya kindly."

Bishop had yanked the blade out of his hand already. Holding his dripping had, his normally impassive and smug expression had been replaced with a pained. He let out a short, grim laugh as Raph approached.

"You turtles really give me a headache," he said. He hurled the bloody sai at Raph's face. "Here, catch!"

"Whoa!" Raph caught the sai just in time, but it had given Bishop the distraction he needed to make an escape. "Hey, get back here, ya sucker!" Raph yelled, brandishing his sais menacingly.

Meanwhile, Mikey had crawled back out of the metal cage and was setting Vittoria in the corner of the room so he could fight the robotic guards that were heading their way. "Don't worry, Vittoria," he said as he set her down. "Mikey's got your shell covered."

Vittoria smiled. "Thanks. Next time I won't leave my weapons at home."

"Ah, don't sweat it." Mikey was grinning as he took out his nunchakus. "Happens even to great ninja masters like myself sometimes." He whirled the nunchakus so fast they were a circular orange blur. As the robots raised their guns to shoot, Mikey charged at them.

"Eat shell, metal heads!"

His foot smashed into a robot's shoulder, and it dented like a fender bender. As soon as he landed, he back flipped and struck two more guards, dodging laser bullets that whizzed past his ears by centimeters. Mikey laughed uproariously as he twisted and spun, ducking over one arm and slamming into a metal body. His ears were ringing, his blood was pounding, and he was hyper aware of the fact that Vittoria was watching every move he made. Perhaps that was why he was busting out some of his fanciest moves, including some truly impressive flip kicks and whirlwind nunchakus action.

As Leo took cover behind a chair from the laser bullets, he said into his headset, "Donny, we need an escape route, before we get burnt to a crisp by laser guns."

"There should be an elevator in the hallway, a few doors down," Donny's voice said through the headset. "Head for the roof. I'll meet you there."

"Thanks, Don." Leo leaped back out from his makeshift barricade and yelled, "Alright guys, time to make our exit."

Raph slugged a robot in the jaw. "Aww, you always spoil my good time, Leo," he said.

"Roger that," Mikey said. He grabbed Vittoria and raced toward his brothers, leaping over malfunctioning robot bodies that twitched on the ground. "And now to escape mutant ninja turtle-style!"

The three of them dashed out of the room and located the elevator. Laser shots followed them into the elevator, but the doors shut before any of the guards could catch up to them. Once the elevator started ascending, Leo addressed Vittoria directly.

"How are you holding up?" he asked. "Mikey told me he saw in his dream that you were coughing up blood."

Vittoria waved a hand weakly, dismissing his concern. "Just comes naturally with being a mutated clone and all," she said. "But I'm a lot better now. Having this shell grow on my back was actually pretty sweet, until it started cracking," she added. She looked up at Mikey and said, "You've got some sick moves, Michelangelo. You kicked shell back there."

Mikey grinned. "Well, as the current Battle Nexus Champion-"

Raph groaned.

" – I've got a reputation at stake." Mikey looked at her curiously. "You know, you sound totally different than you did in my dream. Back then, you were like, all serious and sounded all Leo-y and stuff."

"Leo-y?" Leo mumbled.

Vittoria frowned. "Yeah, I know." She thought about it for a second. "It's just a guess, but it might have something to do with that connection thing. Like, the fact that I've got your DNA in me and stuff." She screwed up her forehead in concentration. "I feel different than I did before. I felt like I was gonna puke my guts out before, but now, I feel a lot better. I know!" she exclaimed, looking excited. "I bet it was when you grabbed my hand back in the cage! We must've trigged some kind of sci-fi mind-meld and now I talk like you and know about things I've never learned about before. Like 'sci-fi mind-meld'," she added.

Mikey blinked, trying to absorb her revelation. "So it's like, you got some of my personality when you touched me?" he asked.

"Oh great," Raph said. "Two Mikey's. Just what the world needs."

"Let's talk more about this later," Leo said, as the elevator halted on the roof access level. "As soon as the Foot Tech Ninja outside see Donny flying for the roof, they'll be heading up here, so we've gotta move fast."

Mikey grinned. "This is definitely the coolest thing that's ever happened to me!"

The door opened, and the three turtles ran straight across ten feet to the door that led to the roof. As they burst out into the dry morning air, Leo checked in with Donny. "We're here Don."

"Coming up on your left, Leo."

The helicopter soared toward them and landed gracefully on the rooftop. Out of all of them, Donny was undoubtedly the most accomplished pilot. The door opened and Raph jumped inside. Mikey and Vittoria followed, while Leo kept watch for any sign of company.

Once Vittoria was settled, Leo said, "All clear!" and hopped in after them, shutting the door to the helicopter.

"And we're out of here!" Donny lifted the helicopter back into the sky just as the door to the roof burst open, seemingly off its own accord. They had missed the Foot Tech ninja just in the nick of time.

Mikey wagged his tongue at the Foot Tech ninja through the window. "And that's how the turtles kick shell and take dames!" he crowed.

"Cowabunga!" Vittoria cheered.

"Another Mikey?" Donny asked in bewilderment.

"Try a human clone with Mikey's DNA," Raph said, shaking his head in disgust.

"Whoa, are you serious?" Donny asked. "That's insane."

"You know, I could really go for some pizza," Vittoria said.

"With sausage and chili and extra green peppers?" Mikey asked gleefully. Vittoria grinned.

"Guess I read your mind, Michelangeo."

"Hey, just call me Mikey. Or the Superquest Extrodinaire! Or the King of the Battle Nexus Arena! Or the -"

Raph turned and raised his fist with a growl. "Or how 'bout the Toothless Wonder?"

**I hope Vittoria's personality change wasn't too abrupt. But I figure the more like Mikey she is, the more enjoyable she'll be to write (and read)! I don't really like writing about angsty girl characters, because they just come out Mary Sue-ish and whiny.**

**~Suki~**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys! Sorry this chapter is quite short. But I hope you like it anyway.**

Vittoria

Chapter Five

Splinter looked deep in thought. "If what you say is true, my sons," he said slowly, "Then Agent Bishop has sunk very low indeed."

Raph snorted and gestured toward the couch. "What more proof do ya need?" he said sarcastically.

For Mikey and Vittoria had not left the couch for two hours – both were completely engrossed in Mikey's video game, Destroyer 2011. After introducing her to Splinter, letting Donny take some preliminary samples, and after she'd had a shower, Mikey swept her away to show her the wonders of the gamer universe, and they hadn't paid any attention to the others since. It seemed the more they were together, the more Vittoria took on Mikey's personality.

"Woo hoo!" Mikey yelled, blasting apart an opponent with a bazooka. "Bombs away!"

"You're not taking my spaceship, Sir Loserville!" Vittoria said. She seemed to have had no trouble picking up the game, nor had she wasted time in devouring half a pizza.

The corner of Splinter's mouth twitched. "As if one Michelangelo wasn't difficult enough," he sighed.

"You're telling me," Raph grumped.

"Well, maybe they'll be able to keep each other company and Mikey'll stop annoying us all the time," Leo said with a smile. He felt both happy and relieved that they had caught Mikey in time before he left for Bishop's headquarters on his own. Having successfully rescued the victim of Bishop's twisted agenda, Mikey was back to his old, happy self. What's more, he had found himself an ideal companion. Leo found the irony very satisfying – Bishop had meant to create a weapon to destroy them, and instead he'd given Mikey a new friend.

He looked around for Donny, and spied him at his usual workspace. He went over to him and asked in a low voice, "What did you find out from those samples?"

Donny removed his eye from the microscope, where he had been examining a slide of blood. He looked quite worried. "I've never seen anything like it," he said. "Her molecules are totally unstable. Not only is she an experimental clone, which has its own biological issues, but Bishop injected her with Mikey's mutant turtle DNA and completely poisoned the chemical makeup of her cells. And then those inferior cells will multiply and result in damaged organs, unhealthy skin cells…"

"Donny," Leo said impatiently. "Can you tell me in plain words what we should be worried about?"

Donny's eyes met his older brothers, and in them Leo saw uncertainty.

"We should worry," he said, "About the fact that her body is falling apart."

*LATER*

"Whoa…"

Mikey stood proudly beside Vittoria as she drank in New York City at night on top of a skyscraper.

"I thought you might like the view," he said. "This is seriously the only way to see the whole city – at night, all lit up like a Christmas tree."

"Awesome," Vittoria breathed. She lifted her face and let the cool wind play with her hair. After showering, she had worked out all the knots with a brush she borrowed from Splinter. It was now much softer, though a bit limp, and thankfully no longer matted with blood.

She said suddenly, "Mikey, you know you're the only friend I've ever had?"

"Huh?" Mikey wasn't sure why he felt so hot all of the sudden. "Oh, uh, yeah, that makes sense!" he blabbered. "Because you're, like, a clone and everything. Guess those scientists aren't really the warm and fuzzy type, huh?"

"Try the cold and probing type," Vittoria said, sticking her tongue out. "Like you heard Bishop say, my name was Seven Zero One. They programmed me to understand English right away, but that was just so I could follow orders. Not because they wanted to get all cozy and talk about ninjitsu." Vittoria giggled, and pushed Mikey playfully in the shoulder. "If they expected me to kill you guys, I'm the most failed experiment that ever lived," she said. "You guys rock. Especially you, Mikey."

It was nighttime, and they were on top of a skyscraper. It shouldn't have been so warm. "Uh," Mikey said. He vaguely realized he sounded like an idiot. "Well, you know, I try," he said lamely. "So if your name was Seven Zero One," he added, changing the subject quickly, "Where did you get your name 'Vittoria'?"

"Oh, that," she said, laughing again. "Well, I was floating in my containment chamber and a couple scientists were talking about an Italian movie they saw. They thought I wasn't conscious. One of the characters was named Vittoria, and since she kicked shell in the movie, I guess I just decided it was a good name. So that's what I called myself." She glanced over at him shyly. "You're good at coming up with names too. You found Klunk at Christmas, didn't you?"

"Yeah," Mikey said. Her eyes were big. And very blue.

"It would be nice to see a real Christmas," she said wistfully. "I mean, I can sense in your mind all your Christmases, but it would be nice to spend one with all of you."

"Aw man, you'll love Christmas!" Mikey said. "I'll show you the snow, and all the toys, and we can go sledding and decorate the tree and stuff."

Vittoria smiled. "It's a date," she said.

Mikey thought he might be coming down with a fever.

**Till next chapter,**

**~Suki~**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello! Welcome back to the story. Enjoy this chapter! Also, I'm going to insert a plug for another TMNT FanFiction that I keep up with: Of Flowers and Things, written by Mystic Medjai. It's a cool concept of 100+ shorts, sometimes with small story arcs, basically like comic strips made out of words! Most of them are funny, some are serious, and she usually puts one up every morning so it's better than your daily cup of coffee. Gotta love me some daily TMNT. **

Vittoria

Chapter Six

"Sensei," Leo said, looking uncomfortable. "It's…well, it's Mikey."

Splinter nodded. "Yes, my son, I have noticed it as well."

"Noticed what?" Raph asked.

Splinter had a way of looking quiet patient even when he was exasperated. "Though I am glad Michelangelo has made a new friend, for the past three days he has been unfocused in his training."

"And he's skipped out on our rooftop runs," Leo said. "I mean, it's great that Mikey and Vittoria are getting along so well, but we shouldn't be letting him slack off either."

Raph chuckled. "That doofus has a crush," he said. "It's written all over his face."

"Sensei," Leo pressed. "Any advice?"

Splinter considered the situation for a moment. "Michelangelo has seen Ms. Vittoria in a most distressing condition, during the visions. I believe he is uneasy to leave her side, lest she become ill again in his absence."

They all remembered how upset Mikey had been over those dreams. Though Mikey had described each of them in detail, without having seen it for themselves, they just couldn't understand completely. And though Vittoria still wasn't exactly the picture of health, she hadn't shown any dire signs that her body was deteriorating either. So far, Donny hadn't shared his findings with Mikey or Vittoria, and as long as she wasn't in immediate danger, he begged the others to keep it a secret as well. He insisted there was no point in upsetting either of them when everything about Vittoria's condition was so inconsistent. She could start to fall apart, or her body could adapt to the change. There was simply no predicting what would happen.

"Leonardo," Splinter said. "Take your brothers above tonight. I will instruct Michelangelo to join you and leave Ms. Vittoria in my care."

Leo nodded. "As you wish, Sensei."

Raph cracked his knuckles, a grin on his face. "Ooh, this is gonna be a good night. I can feel it. Three hours of trash talking Romeo and kicking his shell while he daydreams about his girlie. Sounds like my kinda party."

*LATER THAT NIGHT*

Raph got his wish. As they stood on the rooftop that night, sparring in pairs, Mikey found himself struggling to breathe in the constant deluge of taunts and insinuations Raph sent his way.

"Loverboy's in love!"

"Am not!" Mikey insisted.

"Sure ya are," Raph said. "If you were a cartoon, your eyes would be drawn all sparkly, with big shiny white spots."

Mikey aimed a kick at Raph's stomach, but Raph blocked it and threw a punch at Mikey's arm. Mikey ducked in time and whirled his nunchakus over his head. Raph backed away just in time, but no sooner had Mikey stood up that Raph dove in low with his elbow. Mikey had to twist and execute a side kick to avoid him. As they dodged each other's physical blows, Mikey tried to defend himself mentally as well. Out of the two, getting Raph off his case was proving to be far more difficult.

Leo was getting impatient. "Focus, Raph," he yelled as he blocked Do's bo staff. "We're here to train, remember?"

"Oh, yeah, this is great training, bro," Raph said. "I get to practice my moves and embarrassing Mikey at the same time."

"You're the one who should be embarrassed," Mikey shot back. "Having to walk around with that face all the time."

"Yo, Donny," Raph said. "Where's my back up? Ain't you got something to say to ol' Romeo here too?"

Normally, Donny would've been just as eager to give Mikey a hard time about his attachment to his newfound friend. However, he was distracted with thinking about the samples. He'd checked them again before he left, and the mutated cells had looked most disturbing. He was uneasy. He just couldn't shake the fear that something could go wrong with Vittoria's physical condition at any second.

But Donny was spared from answering Raph's question when all four turtles heard a shout from an alley below. It sounded like someone had been thrown into a wall. Leo halted the practice and they all ran to the edge and peered over into the alleyway.

Four guys were beating up a man in a business suit. His glasses had been smashed against the pavement, and he was cowering in a ball as the four thugs kicked him repeatedly. Their voices carried up to the turtles – it sounded like a standard mugging.

"That's right, all the money you got, lawyer boy. That'll teach you to wear your fancy suit out on our turf," one of them gloated. He wore a sleeveless shirt, and by the dim light of one of the street lights on the sidewalk, the turtles could see the familiar tattoo that spiraled up his arm.

Raph let out a low chuckle. "Just the thing to make my night," he said. "Our old friends the Purple Dragons are out looking for trouble."

"Well then," Leo said, smiling at his brothers. "We shouldn't disappoint them, should we?"

Mikey laughed. "T for trouble and T for turtle! Coincidence? I think not!"

They descended from the roof, silent as shadows. The Purple Dragons were completely unaware that they were being watched, or that the freaky mutant creatures they'd had so much trouble with had come out to play.

One of the thugs grabbed the businessman's collar. "You've got a nice, fancy watch there to go with your fancy suit too, dontcha?"

The man said in a raspy voice, "You can have it, just let me go…I have a family-"

"So do I," the thug said. "They're called the Purple Dragons. And they'd be mighty disappointed if I didn't bring home some souvenirs."

Leo leapt out of the darkness and brought the thug down so hard on the ground that his teeth rattled together.

The other gangsters put up their fists.

"Hey, about that souvenir," Raph said as he dove for one of them, his fist poised. "How 'bout a black eye?" He delivered the blow and knocked the Purple Dragon on his back. "Should make a nice story for 'show and tell' in your kindergarten class," Raph said wickedly.

Mikey was dancing around one of the Purple Dragons, jumping from foot to foot, gleefully taunting the burly gangster. "Man, I would hate waking up to that face every morning," he said, his nunchakus whirling over his head like the blades of a helicopter. "You know, since I'm feeling so nice today I can run to the store and get you a paper bag."

Furious, the Purple Dragon said, "You've got no room to talk, freak!" and he pulled a knife out of his back pocket and lunged for Mikey.

Mikey let out a scream. He ducked just in time, missing the blade by inches. The Purple Dragon blundered past, and hit his head against the fire escape. He roared like an angry bull, holding his hand over the bleeding gash on his forehead.

Mikey grinned as he studied him. "Can't say it's much of an improvement, but you're getting the idea," he said. He leaped at the Purple Dragon, and, with a swift kick to the head, put the gangster out of commission. As the thug lay on the cold pavement, Mikey planted a green foot on his opponent's chest and shouted, "Woo hoo, who's the turtle? Who's the turtle?"

"All four of us, technically," Donny said, cracking his opponent on the head with his bo staff and finishing him. He twirled the staff gracefully and then slid it back in place behind his shell.

"Everyone okay?" Leo asked, standing over the unconscious body of the first thug.

"Come on, Leo, give us some credit," Raph said, nudging his fallen victim with his foot. "We rumble with these goons every week. At this point, it's not even a fair fight."

Leo checked his shell cell for the time. "Let's call it a night anyway," he told the others.

"Oh good," Mikey said. "I was gonna show Vittoria the newest boss in Superquest. He's almost as ugly as Raph. Ouch!" he yelled as Raph smacked him in the back of the head.

"I don't get what she sees in ya," Raph said.

*BACK AT THE LAIR*

As soon as they entered the lair, Mikey was assaulted by a mass of long brown hair.

"Oh my god, you're okay!"

Mikey was completely shocked. Vittoria was hugging him as if he'd been gone for a year. Not to mention, Vittoria was hugging him. In front of everyone. Like she was his girlfriend and he'd just come back from a war or something.

Mikey laughed nervously. "Yeah, I'm great! What's wrong?"

Vittoria pulled away and stared up at him. To someone else, Vittoria would've looked like an even more disfigured creature than the turtles – her skin was diseased, her body was weak, and the growth that was her shell looked slightly like a large tumor. Truth be told, she was a far cry from the picture of health and well being. But not once had Mikey been disgusted by her physical state. The only thing he seemed to notice about her appearance was her long hair and her large eyes.

Vittoria looked like she was about to cry. "I felt you," she said. "I felt you get into a fight with those Purple Dragon bozos and when that thug went for you with his knife I…" She covered her face with her hands. "I was so scared, Mikey. You were in real danger."

Splinter got up from the couch and walked over to his sons. "Ms. Vittoria sensed that you were engaged in a fight through your telepathic connection," he said, placing a gentle hand on her shell. "I assured her you were capable of handling yourselves, but still, the assurance she truly craved was your safe return."

Mikey looked quite sheepish. "Ah man. Well, uh, it's okay, Vittoria. The Purple Dragons are just a bunch of stupid apes scratching their armpits. They're not even a challenge. Don't be upset," he begged, unable to stand seeing her so close to tears. "I'm sorry, I'll be careful and not get caught off guard, okay?"

Vittoria stood quite still, her hands over her face.

"I'm a ninja, it's what I do. It's just an occupational hazard! I'm didn't mean to scare you."

She didn't move.

"Vittoria?" Mikey asked anxiously.

She doubled over and vomited up a fountain of blood. Mikey yelled.

"Vittoria!"

**Till next chapter,**

**~Suki~**


	7. Chapter 7

Vittoria

Chapter Seven

Donny kept his voice to a whisper.

"It's been three days," he told Leo. The two of them were standing near Donny's workplace, keeping an eye on the couch, where Mikey had barely left Vittoria's side since she'd throw up her own blood.

Donny looked exhausted – he'd barely slept. He'd drawn blood and run a dozen tests and wracked his brain for something that might help Vittoria's body stop deteriorating. But not even Don could figure out a way to stabilize her body, let alone find a cure to make her well. Her very body had been born unstable, from the moment she was created as a clone. Even without the mutant turtle DNA, it was unlikely that she would've lived long anyway.

But still. They had all hoped.

"Leo, I can't do anything." Donny's voice sounded anguished. "I don't...I don't think she'll last one more night."

Leo put his hand on Don's shoulder.

"I know you tried everything you could think of," Leo said. "If there was a way to help her, you would've found it." He couldn't let Donny blame himself. Leo knew that trap all too well. Seeing Vittoria in this condition was making everybody miserable. But though Leo's stomach clenched whenever he saw blood leaking out of the corner of her mouth, he knew he had to keep it together for his brothers. He was their leader. They were all counting on him. And now that he knew what was coming – what would happen to her soon – he needed to do his best to prepare.

He pulled Donny a little closer toward him. "Donny," he said. "When it happens…Mikey will understand. He won't blame you for it."

Donny turned his unhappy face up toward his brother, grasping at the comfort of his words.

"But he will need you," Leo said. He glanced at Mikey, at the defeated hunch of his back. "He'll need you to be there for him. He'll need all of us."

Donny swallowed, and then he nodded. He seemed to pull himself together. "You're right," he said.

Leo nodded in return, and left Donny to confront Raph next.

*IN THE GARAGE*

Leo found Raph in the garage, working alone on his bike. As he approached, he heard a loud clank and Raph's voice shouted, "Damn it!"

"Raph," Leo called. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Raph pulled his injured finger out of his mouth and glared over his shoulder at Leo. "Yeah, what?"

Leo observed his brother's stiff shoulders, his angry profile. He looked like a cornered tiger. "How long are you going to stay out here?"

Raph growled low in this throat. "As long as I feel like it. What's it to you?"

Leo sighed, and then delivered the news. "Donny says that Vittoria will probably…she won't make it tonight."

Raph picked up a wrench and began tightening a bolt, pretending not to listen.

"So when that happens…Mikey will need you, Raph."

"Heh." Raph gave a bitter laugh. "What, are you crazy? Mikey's not gonna wanna have anything to do with me." His voice was even raspier than usual. Which meant that he desprately needed to get something off his chest.

Leo pressed for more information. "What makes you think that? It's not your fault she's sick."

"Yeah, but I knew she was sick!"

Raph turned to face Leo, his face contorted with rage, his limbs shaking. His fists were clenched, and he still held the wrench in one hand. He was handling this even worse than Don. "I was there when Donny first told us she was unstable, remember? I knew she didn't have much of a chance! But even though I shoulda told him to not get too attached I…" Raph gritted his teeth. "I encouraged him! I made fun of him! Hell, I wanted him to like that chick. He just seemed so…so damn excited and happy."

Raph's eyes beseeched Leo's, looking for answers. "And now cuz I was too stupid to be realistic he's gonna lose someone he really cares about! He's gonna – I couldn't…I didn't protect Mikey. And I shoulda." Raph's shoulders slumped. He bowed his head, hiding the emotions on his face. "He's not gonna want to be near me, not since all that came out of my mouth for three days was trash talk about them bein' lovebirds."

Leo should've guessed he would act this way. Raph was fiercely loyal and protective of everyone in the family. He'd do anything to prevent Mikey from getting hurt. Except, seeing Mikey as happy as he had been around Vittoria, Raph had encouraged a relationship that he knew, in the back of his mind, was a long shot. Now he blamed himself for not intruding on Mikey's happiness and trying to prevent him from developing stronger feelings.

Leo said to Raph, "I know it feels like you encouraged him, but remember when he was having those dreams? Remember how he wouldn't stop talking about her, even then?"

Raph didn't look up. "Yeah, so?" he grunted.

"Mikey was attached to Vittoria way before we went to Bishop's lab," Leo explained. "I'm sure he already felt something for her then. And he already knew that she was sick. Remember? I think Mikey's always knew there was a chance she might not make it. He just didn't think about it because he enjoyed being with her."

Raph absorbed his older brother's words slowly.

"You didn't do anything wrong by encouraging him," Leo said bracingly. "You wanted him to be happy. We all did. Mikey won't be mad at you for that. He'll understand that if Vittoria had…if she'd been healthier, you would've wanted them to be together."

It seemed that Raph had calmed – the storm of emotions was dying down. Leo's words of reason soothed him. It had always been like this. Leo had the power to bring Raph back to his senses, no matter what the circumstance. And now that Raph didn't have to shoulder the burden of his brother's pain, he could focus on what he needed to do.

*BACK IN THE LAIR, AT MIDNIGHT*

"…Mikey? Where do you think clones go when they die?" Vittoria's voice came out as a whisper.

Mikey forced himself to laugh. "Same as everyone else, I guess," he said, matching the level of her voice.

Over the past three days, terrible things had happened to Vittoria's body. Her hands and feet grew gnarled and curled like dead leaves. Her shell broke down into a pliable, gelatinous sack, which oozed bodily fluid onto the floor. Her rash had spread to her stomach and legs, and erupted in painful sores. Splinter had given Donny his most powerful tea leaves, and with them Donny had mixed together a cooling salve that, thankfully, gave Vittoria relief from the rash. Raph had gone out earlier and brought Vittoria the softest, more comfortable blanket he find, far higher quality than any of the ones they had around their home. Per Master Splinter's recipe, Leo had made Vittoria miso soup, which had helped to chase away the constant chill that seemed to have gripped her bones.

Mikey stayed with Vittoria as much as he could. He only stepped away from her when she was asleep, and even then, he didn't leave the lair. When she wasn't speaking to him directly, he felt her presence in his mind. It was as if they shared the same brain – their close proximity over the past week had connected them in a strange way. However, with this connection came physical suffering for Mikey as well. As Vittoria had grown more and more ill, Mikey felt a keen nausea creep into his own stomach. This made it impossible for him to eat.

Her breath a wheeze, Vittoria smiled with only one side of her mouth. "I must look gorgeous right now," she said. "Where's the makeup girl? I think I need my nose powdered."

"Hey, if you weren't sick, you'd look beautiful," Mikey assured her hastily.

"Yeah…" Vittoria gazed at Mikey's face through half closed lids. "Master Splinter and your brothers have been great to me, Mikey."

"Well, you haven't even met all of them," Mikey said. "April and Casey are family too, but they're out of town visiting April's mom. You'll like them, they're the best humans we know."

Vittoria smiled again – that same half smile, like one side of her mouth was too weak for the effort. "Yes, I…I can see them in your mind…Christmas…"

Mikey got down on his knees and held both her gnarled hands in his. "Yeah, they came for Christmas last year," he said, letting the memory flood into his mind so Vittoria could see it more clearly. "We invited the Professor – he's a homeless guy, and his two friends, and Leatherhead, who's basically Don except he's a mutant crocodile adopted by the Utrom, and the King of the Battle Nexus, and Usagi-san and Genosuke-san -"

Vittoria closed her eyes, but by her smile she was still listening.

"-and that was when I stopped those thugs from stealing all those Little Orphan Alien dolls," Mikey babbled on. "That part of the day was crazy but after that we all went and delivered the toys to the children's home and everyone had a great time. The tree was all lit up, and everyone had a ton to eat, and people were laughing because I told the world's most awesome jokes…"

_That sounds so great, Mikey. You have the best family ever._

"Ah, yeah, my bros and Sensei are the greatest a mutant ninja turtle could ask for," Mikey said, talking past the tears that were pouring from his eyes. "Donny, he's so smart. He can make anything and fix anything and hack into anything, plus he always fixes my videogames when I break them on accident. And Raph, he's always a lot of fun to tease and play pranks on because he gets mad so easy, but he's crazy and brave and super strong. And then Leo's our fearless leader. He looks after all of us. He only does what's best for us and if he wasn't there we'd totally fall apart as a team and as brothers. And S-Sensei," Mikey gulped, tasting salt on his lips, while his hands shook violently. "Sensei is the best sensei and father in the world. He always knows the right thing to say, and even though we never listen to him and we always get into trouble, he always bails us out or helps us or forgives us...they'll…" Mikey swallowed hard. "They'll come to love you too, Vittoria, I know they will."

_I feel like I already know them. I see them through your mind. You're so lucky to have all that love around you. I wanted…to be one of those loved ones too._

"You are!"

_Mikey, I want you to make me a promise._

"Sure," he choked. "Anything."

_I see in your mind that Agent Bishop is still alive in the future. It doesn't seem like it now, but eventually he'll change for the better. So when I die, promise me you there will be no revenge._

"But," Mikey sputtered. "But, he did this to you!"

_He gave me life. And if I never had a life, I would never have met you. _

Mikey sniffed. "And if I'd never met you, you wouldn't have shown me that shortcut through the Malevolent Mountains in Superquest that I never saw before now."

_Got that right. What…would you do…without me?_

"I'd take the long way around through the Doomed Woods, that's for sure."

_There's a…cheat code for…that part by the cave…in the woods…_

"Really?" Mikey's lip trembled. "What is it?"

_It's…easy. You…just…press…_

Mikey waited. But she never spoke another word again.

**Till the final chapter,**

**~Suki~**


	8. Chapter 8

Vittoria

Chapter Eight

FRIDAY, 12 AM

An older turtle would have held back his tears. Mikey cried.

A turtle who cared about his reputation wouldn't have let his tears out. Mikey couldn't stop sobbing.

A turtle who had others depending on him would have only cried when he was alone in his room. Mikey cried everywhere.

A turtle who wanted to get it together quickly would have limited his grieving to only during the small hours of the morning. Mikey cried every day for a week.

An angrier turtle set on vengance would've stormed Bishop's headquarters and hunted him down to murder him in cold blood, or he would've died trying. Mikey just sniveled and dragged himself around the lair like he had weights fastened to his legs.

A turtle who liked to keep busy would've buried himself in his work so that he didn't have to cope with the horrible, wrenching emotions, or feel anything. Mikey did nothing but sit and cry.

That night, Splinter found Mikey huddled over Vittoria's cold body and held him for hours. He held him just as he had when Mikey was a child, when he used to be afraid of the dark. He sang to Mikey in a low voice, in Japanese, a sad, gentle hymn that Mikey didn't understand.

FRIDAY, 9 AM

Leo, Raph, and Don removed Vittoria's body. They cleaned the floor and washed the couch. When they were finished, it looked as though she had never died. Mikey dragged himself out of his room and collapsed onto the newly cleaned couch, burying his face into the cushions.

SUNDAY, 7 PM

Leo put in a movie. It was one of Mikey's favorites. He joined Mikey on the couch and placed a gentle hand on his shell. Crawling forward with his elbows, Mikey scooted up and put his head in his brother's lap. He sobbed while the opening credits rolled, and Leo just rubbed his shell back and forth, mimicking the waves of the ocean. He would soothe Mikey. He would be the constant in the middle of his storm.

TUESDAY, 3 PM

Donny was welding two pieces of metal together when he saw Mikey huddled on the couch out of the corner of his eye. His expression softened. He put down his tools and took off his welding mask. As he walked over to Mikey, he saw that he was gripping one of his comics, and though he had it turned to the first page, it didn't look as though he was actually reading. Instead he just stared, while tears continuously streamed from his eyes. Donny sat down next to him, and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. He gently pried the comic from Mikey's grip, set it down on their laps, and began to read.

WEDNESDAY, 1 AM

Mikey was curled up in his bed, the lights turned off, his body shuddering and jerking. If he was asleep, he was having a nightmare. If he was awake, he was still crying. Raph entered the room and walked over to Mikey's bed. He put a hand on Mikey's shoulder, and sure enough, Mikey jerked awake. The nightmare had been bad enough that he'd even continued to cry in his sleep. Still not quite awake, and with the horrible remnants of the nightmare still clinging to the corners of his mind, Mikey threw his arms around his brother's neck and broke down in fresh sobs. Raph said nothing, and did nothing but hold his brother and try with all his might to send his own telepathic message, to assure his brother through the connection of their minds and spirits that the pain would pass.

TWO WEEKS LATER

Mikey emerged from his room with a true smile on his face at last, and his brothers knew that he was going to be okay.

"I'm gonna go out on the roofs for a bit," Mikey said. "Get some air. I've been moping around here for too long."

Splinter nodded in approval. "That is an excellent idea, Michelangelo."

Mikey smiled and waved goodbye to them, and then leaped up through the sewer system toward the surface.

On top of the same skyscraper where he'd taken Vittoria, he breathed in the fresh air and felt more alive than he had in two weeks. He felt as though he'd been living in a monsoon – the second week had been more subdued, but still painful. Even now, it still hurt to think about her, but little by little, Mikey knew he would eventually return to his cheerful self. He had to. It was what Vittoria had loved about him. It was his happiness that had allowed her to stay happy, even at the very end.

He looked up at the night sky, at the vastness of the stars, and said, "Let's meet up again at Christmas, Vittoria. Right here, on this roof. I bet I'll have all kinds of stories by then to tell you."

There was no answer in his mind. There was no whisper of her presence. But Mikey still believed she was listening. Clones went to the same place as everyone else.

**Thanks for reading this story! **

**Now to explain why I killed my OC: When I started writing this, I planned to have Vittoria become Mikey's girlfriend and live with the turtles henceforth. But then I realized a couple things: one, there was no way I could create, in a short story with no history or background or tie-ins to any TMNT past, an OC worthy to be Mikey's girlfriend. **

**Secondly, and more importantly, I realized that I didn't want to focus on Vittoria, because TMNT has never been a romance story - it's been a story about brothers and family bonds and fighting and living through things together. So therefore, it would be truer to the spirit of TMNT to have Vittoria just be a difficult thing that Mikey has to go through, with the support of his family around him. I didn't want to add an OC and change the family dynamic - those four brothers are the stars and I didn't want to separate them in any way.**

**So who's excited for Nickolodean's reboot series in 2012? I am! I hope the animation isn't a turn off but from what I've read online it's looking like it's going to be pretty cool! **


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